From the Provincial Office of OSSTF
NEW BILLS INTRODUCED
BILL 210, FAIRNESS FOR RESIDENTIAL SUPERINTENDENTS, JANITORS AND CARETAKERS ACT
NDP MPP Gilles Bisson’s (Timmins) private member’s bill would amend the Employment Standards Act so that workers, such as superintendents, janitors and caretakers, who reside in their buildings are entitled to the minimum wage. The minimum wage was raised to $14.25 an hour effective October 1, 2020, as per legislation previously passed by the Kathleen Wynne government instituting annual inflation rate increases. Although the Ford government reversed the proposed minimum wage increase to $15, it did retain the inflation rate increases.
BILL 211, DWARFISM AWARENESS AND ACCEPTANCE MONTH ACT
NDP MPP France Gélinas’ (Nickel Belt) private member’s bill would proclaim the month of October in each year Dwarfism Awareness and Acceptance Month.
BILL 212, CONNECTING CARE AMENDMENT ACT (PATIENT BILL OF RIGHTS)
Liberal MPP John Fraser’s private member’s bill would add a bill of rights for people receiving health-care services, including the right to access an essential caregiver.
BILL 213, BETTER FOR PEOPLE, SMARTER FOR BUSINESS ACT
Associate Minister of Small Business and Red Tape Reduction Prabmeet Sarkaria (Brampton South) introduced this government bill that promises to slash red tape for businesses. Some of the proposed changes include:
• Require certain persons who wish to apply for a permit to take ground water for the purpose of producing bottled water to first seek the support of the council of the local municipality where the water will be taken;
• Allows the Financial Services Regulatory Authority to waive or change certain rules around pension plans, including the requirement for an administrator to give notice of a transfer of assets between pension plans, as well as the conversion of a plan from single-employer to jointly sponsored;
• Exempt from development charges the development of land intended for use by a university that receives operating funds from the government.
BILL 214, TIME AMENDMENT ACT
PC MPP Jeremy Roberts’ (Ottawa West—Nepean) bill seeks to make daylight saving time permanent year round. Roberts’ bill also passed 2nd Reading and was referred to the Standing Committee on the Legislative Assembly. Numerous bills have previously been introduced seeking the time change. Roberts’ bill has received some assurance that it would be become law but only if New York State and Quebec implemented similar laws.
BILL 215, MAIN STREET RECOVERY ACT
Associate Minister of Small Business and Red Tape Reduction Prabmeet Sarkaria (Brampton South) introduced another government bill that promises to slash red tape for businesses. One of the proposed changes would remove a municipalities’ power to make noise-related bylaws. This would permanently allow round-the-clock deliveries.
BILLS REFERRED TO COMMITTEE
BILL 202, SOLDIERS’ AID COMMISSION ACT
The Minister of Children, Community and Social Services Todd Smith (Bay of Quinte), bill passed 2nd Reading and was referred to the Social Policy Committee for review. Smith’s bill would administer a financial assistance program for eligible veterans and eligible family members of veterans who are resident in Ontario. The bill would also set out rules respecting the appointment of members of the Commission’s board of directors, the meetings of the board and annual reporting requirements.
BILL 207, MOVING ONTARIO FAMILY LAW FORWARD ACT
Attorney General Doug Downey (Barrie—Springwater—Oro-Medonte) bill passed 2nd Reading and was referred to the Standing Committee on Social Justice. Downey’s bill seeks to make it easier for families to navigate and resolve legal matters, while bringing the province’s divorce and custody laws in line with federal law.
BILL 214, TIME AMENDMENT ACT
Please see above in “New Bills Introduced.”
BILLS PASSED
No bills passed this week.
IN OTHER NEWS
NDP PROPOSES CHANGES TO LONG-TERM CARE
In response to the almost 2,000 deaths in Ontario’s Long-Term Care facilities during the COVID-19 pandemic, NDP leader Andrea Horwath (Hamilton Centre) has proposed an ambitious plan to end for-profit long-term care in Ontario. Only public or non-profit homecare and long-term facilities would be permitted under Horwath’s plan. Horwath also proposes to create an additional 50,000 long-term care spaces and increase the wages of personal support workers by $5 an hour. Horwath also wants culturally-sensitive facilities for seniors including for Indigenous and LGBTQ+ communities.
The Legislature will be recessed the week of Thanksgiving.
It will resume on October 19, 2020.